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Around 1,500 Jetstar labour hire cabin crew will see a pay rise following “same job, same pay” negotiations between the airline and the TWU.
Under the in-principle agreement, cabin crew at Altara and Team Jetstar who work with directly-hired crew will see an average annual pay increase of $7,128 and $7,025 respectively, with Altara workers to also be paid for training and given direct employment opportunities at the airline.
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“We’re now a step closer to fair pay for cabin crew at Jetstar, with the average Team Jetstar or Altara worker set to receive thousands more in their pay packets after years of being paid less to do the same job,” Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Michael Kaine said.
“Altara workers until now were appallingly not even paid for weeks of training and had no path to direct employment. This agreement will correct that and put all cabin crew work groups at Jetstar on a more level playing field.
“Just as Alan Joyce worked to systematically decimate pay and conditions at Qantas, we will work to build back decent, secure jobs in cabin crew and across the airport. If Qantas is serious about turning over a new leaf, it will work with the TWU to prioritise good aviation jobs and listen to workers.”
Jetstar says it has been “committed to finding the best outcome for its people and business” during the negotiations, with CEO Stephanie Tully thanking workers for their patience.
“Cabin crew are at the heart of our operation and this proposed agreement recognises their hard work and dedication to low fares flying,” she said in a statement.
“We’ve worked together with the TWU to navigate the new legislation and come to an in-principle agreement that delivers wage increases for our cabin crew while also ensuring we support our low fares business model and enable future growth.”
The Flight Attendants Association of Australia (FAAA), however, is more cautious about the deal, with federal secretary Teri O’Toole telling The Australian the union would not drop its own same job, same pay application for Qantas labour-hire and subsidiary cabin staff.
“We’ve got grave concerns around it because these rates of pay they are talking about are based on flying hour allowances, and the company controls how many hours they will fly,” O’Toole said.
“We don’t think there is anything good for Altara workers in this. It looks good on paper but depending on the work they’ve got, we don’t know that it is.”
Jetstar says it “continues to have constructive conversations” with the FAAA.
